15 June

Bible In 365 Days                                                          

Psalms 9-16

 

Psalm 9

The burden of this psalm is thanksgiving for Jehovah's righteous rule by which He has overcome the enemies of the chosen people. It is almost exclusively a song of thanksgiving. There are a few brief petitions, but they are intimately related to the measures of praise. These songs of praise move from the personal to the general. First, deliverances wrought for the singer are celebrated (verses 1-4) ; then the government of the enthroned Jehovah among the nations, a government based on righteousness, is sung (verses 5-8) ; and next the tenderness of Jehovah toward the oppressed and His unfailing succor of the needy are declared (verses 9,10). The song of the singer then becomes a cry to others to join in the chorus (verses 11,12). Then follows a cry for mercy which immediately merges into praise, and the thanksgiving moves out in the same order from personal (verses 13,14) to general (verses  15,16). The whole ends with a declaration of the certainty of the divine government and a final prayer for its clear manifestation.

The psalm is a great pattern of praise on a level neglected far too much in our day. We praise God much for His mercy. This is right, but it is a good thing to recognize His righteous rule and to praise Him for that.

 

Psalm 10

In the Septuagint and other versions, probably the ancient Hebrew, Psalms 9:1-20; Psalms 10:1-18 appear as one. There is a clear connection between them, but it is that of contrast. In the former the singer has rejoiced in the exercise of Jehovah's rule in the whole earth. In this he mourns what seems to be the abandonment of His own people. There is, first, the protesting cry of the heart against what seems to be divine indifference to the injustice being wrought by the wicked against the poor (1,2). This injustice is then described in detail. It is graphic description of the brutality of earthly rule when it has forgotten God, or says in its ignorance that God has forgotten it.

The picture would fit many times of misrule on the pages of human history. There is a heart cry to Jehovah, to God to interfere. If the psalm opens in complaint, it closes in confidence. The wicked man is wrong about God. He does see and know. The cry of the oppressed He hears. Deliverance must come, for Jehovah is King. Not once or twice, but often the men of faith have been driven to cry out against the oppression of man by man. Happy is he whose faith causes him to complain directly to Jehovah. The result is ever a renewed consciousness of the certainty of the divine government and the necessary rightness of the ultimate issue.

 

Psalm 11

This psalm is the answer of faith to the advice of fear. Both are alike conscious of immediate peril. Fear sees only the things that are near. Faith takes in the larger distances. If the things fear sees are indeed all, its advice is excellent. When the things which faith sees are realized, its determination is vindicated. The advice of fear is found in the words beginning, "Flee as a bird," and ending, "What can the righteous do?" The name and thought of God are absent. The peril is seen vividly and accurately. It is wicked in nature; imminent, the wicked bend the bow; subtle, they "shoot in darkness." The very foundations are destroyed. There is nothing now for fear but to flee!

The rest of the psalm is the answer of faith. The first vision of faith is of Jehovah enthroned. That is the supreme foundation. Then He also sees the peril. Do the wicked watch the righteous? Jehovah watches the wicked! Are the righteous tried in the process? Jehovah presides over the trial1 Are the wicked going to shoot? So is Jehovah - and rain snares and brimstone! Perhaps among all the psalms none reveals more perfectly the strong hold of faith. It is the man who measures things by the circumstances of the hour who is filled with fear and counsels and practices fight! The man who sees Jehovah enthroned and governing has no panic.

 

Psalm 12

Out of a consciousness of the terrible evil of his times, the worshiper cries to Jehovah for help. The failure of godly men and faithful souls is always the gravest peril which can threaten a nation or an age. There is no trouble which more heavily afflicts the heart of the trusting. The note here is more characterized by faith than that of Psalms 10:1-18. Here is a cry for help but no suggestion that God is indifferent. Indeed, there is an immediate affirmation of confidence in the interest and interference of God. It is very beautiful to notice how, in answer to the cry and the affirmation of confidence, Jehovah speaks so that the singer hears Him and is able to announce Jehovah's response before the song ceases.

This answer of Jehovah is most precious. It promises the preservation of the trusting. The psalmist breaks out in praise of the purity of Jehovah's words and declares that Jehovah will "keep them" and "preserve them." The "them" here refers to the words. There is no promise of widespread revival or renewal. It is the salvation of a remnant and the preservation of His own words which Jehovah promises. Thus the psalm ends with a description of the same condition which it at first describes. It is the cry of a godly soul for help amid prevailing ungodliness and it is answered.

 

Psalm 13

This little psalm is very full of beauty as it traces the way by which many a tried and tempest-tossed soul has found consolation and strength. First of all, there is the cry almost of despair. Foes are oppressing the men of faith. There seems to be no succor even from Jehovah. Yet carefully note that his faith in Jehovah, who is God, abides. He is able to help. To Him then he cries.

This is a lesson of profound value. If the heart be overburdened and Jehovah seems to hide His face, let the story of woe be told to Him. It is a holy exercise. Men may not understand it. They may even charge us with failing faith; when, as a matter of fact, while all other anchorage crumbles in the storm, faith fastens itself more surely on the Rock. How does the psalm end? With a song of triumph. Yet it is a song of faith, for deliverance is not yet realized. How, then, does the song emerge from the wail? Carefully examine the words:

"But I have trusted in Thy mercy; My heart shall rejoice in Thy salvation."

That backward look has served to remind the troubled heart of deliverances and a new confidence is born of the memory which utters itself in a song. It is good to "forget the things behind" if memory of them would hinder present consecration. It is also good to remember all the way Jehovah has led us when the day was dark with fear.

 

Psalm 14

Here the psalmist utters his own consciousness of the meaning of godlessness. In its essence it is folly. The word "fool" here stands for moral perversity rather than intellectual blindness. This is repeated in the declaration, "They are corrupt,'' and in the statement that their works are abominable. To his own testimony the psalmist adds the statement of the divine outlook on humanity. It is the same. Men do not recognize God and their doings are therefore evil.

The psalmist then looks at certain occasions without naming them. "There" refers to some occasion of God's deliverance of His people. The thought is that when God was recognized by His people their enemies were filled with fear. Then there is a contrasting picture of the oppressed people of God put to shame, "because Jehovah is his refuge"; the thought being that the refuge was neglected and the chosen therefore rejected (see Psalms 53:5). The thought of the whole psalm is of the safety of godliness and the peril of ungodliness. Jehovah cannot be deceived. He knows and this events always prove. The psalm ends with a sigh for the coming of the day of deliverance.

 

Psalm 15

This psalm declares the terms of friendship between man and Jehovah. The opening questions describe the privileges of friendship. To sojourn does not necessarily mean to stay for a brief time. Length of stay is not suggested by the word, but rather the position of one who receives hospitality, a guest. To dwell is to reside permanently. The picture is of a resident of the City of God, who has free and welcome access to God's presence. To whom are such high privileges granted? The answer is first stated in general terms and then illustrations are given.

In general terms, the friend of God is one whose general deportment is perfect, whose activity is right, whose inner thoughts are pure. The test of all this is in a man's attitude to his fellow man, which is described. The man fulfilling these conditions is never moved from his residence on the holy hill nor excluded from the hospitality of Jehovah's tent. The outcome of true friendship with Jehovah is friendship for man. Therefore the condition for continued friendship with Jehovah is loyal friendship to man.

 

Psalm 16

This is a song of satisfaction. The singer is not one who is unfamiliar with peril. The opening sentence is a sigh, revealing the consciousness of peril. Toward the close, the shadows of Sheol (hell) and the terror of corruption are recognized. Yet these things find a place here only that they may be canceled by the facts which create a sense of triumph over all peril. Jehovah is the one and all-sufficient good and the saints are friends of the singer because they are also friends of Jehovah.

With those who exchange Jehovah for another god the psalmist will have no fellowship. The fact that Jehovah is the supreme good is developed in descriptive measures. He is a present good and the hope of all the future. A present possession, creating pleasant places and perpetual power. As for the future, the last enemies will not overcome. Beyond victory over them is the presence of the King and the place of His right hand with fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore. The hope of this singer found its perfect fulfilment only in the Man of perfect trust, and through Him in all who share His life through the mystery of that death from which He came triumphantly to enter into the eternal joys.